. >> reporter: also in virginia, mitt romney's post-debate momentum ran smack right into those breakthrough numbers. >> more and more people have just stopped looking for work. >> reporter: so, romney tried to spin the unemployment rate. >> the truth is, if the same share of people were participating in the workforce today, as on the day the president got elected, the unemployment rate would be around 11%. >> reporter: the president, who spoke before romney, saw that charge coming. >> today's news, certainly is not an excuse to try to talk down the economy, to score a few political points. it's a reminder that this country has come too far to turn back now. >> reporter: but there was more. when the former ceo of general electric took to twitter and then the air waves, suggesting the obama campaign cooked the numbers. >> i don't know what the right number is. but i'll tell you, these numbers don't smell right when you think about where the economy is right now. >> reporter: many experts laughed off the charge. but the labor secretary, whose department compiles the monthly report, was not lau